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Cutthroats walkthrough

CUTTHROATS (Infocom)
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Welcome  aboard,  matey! Dust off your scuba tank, shake out your flippers,
and  prepare  to  go  treasure hunting. But first, a word from our sponsor.
Cutthroats,  like  most Infocom games, has several solutions. This walkthru
will  show  you  one  way  of  completing the adventure. However, there are
others,  so  when  you've  finished, you might want re-play the game, doing
different  things, to see if you can come up with another way of recovering
the treasures successfully.

Also, you should be aware that you can only recover treasures from 2 of the
ships,  the  Sao Vera and the S.S. Leviathan. The other wrecks are only red
herrings,  and  you  don't  have to bother with them. Which of the two real
wrecks  you  will dive for depends on the item you are shown by Johnny Red.
If he shows you the gold coin, it's the Sao Vera; if it's the dinner plate,
then the ship is the Leviathan.

Further, most of your actions up to the dive itself will be pretty much the
same,  so  this section of the walkthru will take you up almost to the dive
itself.  After  that, consult either the Sao Vera section, or the Leviathan
section,  depending on which ship you're investigating. Ok! The game starts
with a long lead in, explaining how you came by the book of shipwrecks. You
will have to sit through this on each boot-up; no way around it.

After  that,  the game really begins, with you lying in bed in your scruffy
room at the Red Boar Inn. The first thing to do is stand up, then wind your
watch  (time  is  important  in  the game, and if your watch runs down, you
can't keep track of the time). There's a note on the floor. Read that, then
open your dresser. Inside are the shipwreck book, your bankbook, and a room
key. Get the key, open the door, go out, and lock the door again. You don't
want to leave the door open, or the Weasel will come by later and steal the
shipwreck book.

If  that happens, the game is over before it even starts. You don't need to
take  the  book  with  you,  so locking the door is effective here. Now, go
downstairs and out to the Wharf Road. Follow the road East until you get to
the  Shanty. Enter the Shanty, and you will see Johnny Red and Pete the Rat
already  there. Sit down and order breakfast, then wait for Weasel to show.
Order  a  glass  of  water  when you get thirsty. While you're waiting, you
might want to listen to the parrot.

He  doesn't have anything important to say, but you might get a chuckle out
of  him.  Eventually,  Weasel  will  arrive,  and Johnny will ask if you're
interested  in  doing  some treasure hunting. Say yes, and then Johnny will
have  you all meet again a little later at the lighthouse, in order to keep
McGinty  from  finding out what you're up to. After that, leave the Shanty,
go  back  West to the end of Wharf Road, and from there Southwest twice and
Northwest once, which brings you to the lighthouse.

Now,  wait  for Pete, who will be the last person to arrive. Once Pete gets
there,  Johnny  will  show  an  object,  either the coin or the plate. This
indicates  which  wreck  to  dive  for.  After  that,  he'll  give  further
instructions,  which you should read carefully. When he's finished, go back
to  your  room at the Red Boar. Get your passbook. If you're diving for the
Leviathan,  also get your scuba gear from the closet (scuba gear not needed
for the Sao Vera).

Leave  the  room  (lock  the  door behind you!), and go back out. Walk East
along  Wharf road to the end, and go Southeast to the Ocean Road. If you're
going to use your scuba gear for the dive, go Southwest into the alley, and
drop  your  scuba  gear there. You don't want McGinty to see you lugging it
around.  Follow  the  Ocean Road south to the end, then go Southwest to the
Ocean  Road,  and  North into the bank. Make your withdrawl, then leave and
return to Ocean Road, where you go Southeast to Point Lookout.

Drop  your  passbook  here (that Mcginty has sharp eyes, and you don't want
him  to  see  you  with  that,  either),  and  wait for Johnny. When Johnny
arrives,  show  him  the  money  you  just  took  from  the  bank. He'll be
satisfied,  and  then  ask  if  the wreck is more than 200 feet underwater.
Answer  yes  if it's the Sao Vera, no if it's the Leviathan. The two of you
will then head back to International Outfitters to rent a ship and purchase
supplies and equipment. McGinty will be in the store when you get there.

However,  just  wait,  and  he'll  leave  eventually.  Johnny will make his
purchases  first,  and  you  will  have  to chip in some of the cash you're
carrying.  However, you will have plenty of money left over to buy whatever
you  need. When it's your turn, buy the flashlight and the shark repellent.
If you're diving for the Sao Vera, that's all you need. However, if you are
diving  for  the Leviathan, also buy the following items: C battery, putty,
and  electromagnet, and also rent the small air compresser (so you can fill
your tank).

All these items will be delivered to the ship for you, so you don't have to
take  them  with  you.  Now,  it's time to uncover a little double-dealing.
Leave  Outfitters,  and  go  back  East  along  Wharf Road to the end, then
Southeast  again  to  Ocean  Road.  Go  along  Ocean  Road to the end, then
Southwest to Shore Road, and continue West along Shore Road until you reach
the Ferry dock. Wait around.

Soon McGinty will appear, and a short while later, Weasel. The two men will
go  off  to  a corner and talk. Then Weasel will hand something to McGinty,
and  board  the  Ferry  (you  can't  get on it yourself, but you have other
things to do, anyway). Ok, now you've seen that, go back to Ocean Road, and
then  into  the  alleyway.  The alley runs behind all the buildings, and it
will  come  in very handy! Go West along the alley (pick up your scuba gear
if  you  dropped it here earlier) , until you're standing behind the vacant
lot, which is next door to McGinty's.

Wait  here,  and  McGinty will come by, heading from East to West. Continue
waiting, and he will soon re-appear, going from West to East (he is walking
along  Wharf  Road,  of  course). Once you see him the second time, go West
once, and you're behind his store. The door is locked, but you can open the
window  and get through into the place. Here you will find an envelope that
proves  the  Weasel  is out to double-cross you all. Get the envelope, then
leave by the window.

Go back along the alley to the Vacant lot, then go straight North until you
come  to  the  dock  where  the  rental  ships  are moored. Both ships have
approximately the same layout; they are slightly different on the top deck,
but  below  they are exactly the same. Enter whichever ship has been rented
for  the  dive,  and go below deck. Then go north until you reach the crews
quarters,  and  hide  your envelope under the bed. You don't want Weasel to
know you have it (he'll kill you), and if you show it to Johnny now, you'll
cancel the expedition.

Now  you  have  to do some more waiting. The delivery boy will come around,
and drop off the items you've bought. Then the others will start to arrive.
When  Johnny  comes,  go to the Captain's Cabin, and tell him the longitude
and  latitude  of  the  wreck,  which  you can easily get by looking at the
shipwreck  book  that  came  in the game package. Then go back to the crews
quarters,  and  wait  some more. Eventually, you'll reach the dive site. At
this  point,  you  should  now  read  either  the  Sao  Vera section or the
Leviathan section, whichever is applicable.

Ok,  so  it's  time for the Leviathan. Get up, then go North to the storage
locker.  Here you will find all the things you bought at Outfitters. Put on
your  wet  suit  and  flippers.  Get  the drill and the C battery, open the
drill,  put  the  battery  inside,  and  close the drill. Get the remaining
items,  except  the compresser. Fill your tank with the compresser, then go
South.  Along  the  way,  get  the envelope from under the bed. Stop in the
galley to eat and drink, then continue on South to the Captain's Quarters.

Show  Johnny  the envelope. That will take care of Weasel! Now go North and
up.  Put on your tank and mask. Johnny will tell you about the orange line,
but  for  this  dive,  it won't be needed. You're all set, so dive in! Once
underwater,  turn on your flashlight, because it's going to get dark pretty
soon. Oops! A shark just showed up! Good thing you have the repellent. Open
the  canister, and the shark will take off. Now, just keep going down until
you reach the wreck.

You're  on the top deck of the Leviathan, with a hole at your feet. Go down
through  the hole, to the Middle Deck. Here, you can only go up or down, so
go  down  again, to the Below Decks area. From there, go South, to the room
with  the  closed  door. You might want to read the sign on the door before
you open it. Once past the door, you're in a mine locker. All the mines are
tied  down,  except  for  one  loose  one,  floating  in  front  of a hole.
Fortunately,  you  can  take care of that problem without difficulty. Touch
the magnet to the mine, then turn on the magnet.

Drop  the  magnet  (why  that  doesn't  blow you to bits, I don't know, but
that's  how  it  works).  Now you can go up through the hole. You're on the
Middle  Deck  again,  although  a  different  part  of it. The way South is
narrow,  so  remove your tank, then go due South until you come to the room
with  the safe. This is the tricky part. Turn on the drill, drill the lock,
and  then  *immediately*  turn off the drill again. Otherwise, it will burn
out, and you'll have a big problem later!

Ok,  inside the safe is a glass case containing some valuable stamps. Alas,
there  is  a  crack in the case, and water is starting to seep in. However,
don't be alarmed; you'll have enough time to fix that. Go back North to the
room  with  the hole in it. Put your tank back on. Go through the hole into
the  mine  locker, then North, then up through another hole. Surprise! This
room  still  has air in it. Good thing, too, because the water level in the
case  was starting to get too high for comfort! Now, turn on the drill, and
drill a hole in the case.

As  the  water  drains  out, the drill dies (lasted just long enough). Now,
open  the  tube  of putty, and put the glob of putty on the hole. The putty
will  seal  both  the  hole and the crack. And that's just about it for the
Leviathan.  All  you  have to do now is go back through the ship, and up to
your own boat, where your comrades are waiting. Congratulations! You're now
a very rich diver!

Ok,  it's  off  to the Sao Vera. This one has a few more obstacles than the
Leviathan did, but none of them are particularly difficult. The first thing
is  to  get  off the bed, and head North to the Storage Locker. Here you'll
find  the  flashlight  and  repellent, as well as a deap-sea diving outfit.
There  is  also  a  small  machine  here, that you won't be needing (it's a
locater  box.  If  you really want to fiddle with it, you have to buy a dry
cell to make it work).

Get everything but the box, then go back South. Get the envelope from under
your  bed,  stop  off  in  the Galley to eat and drink, then continue on to
Johnny's  cabin.  Show  him the envelope, which will put an end to Weasel's
double-cross.  Now  wear  the suit and go up on deck. Johnny will be there,
and  will tell you about the orange line. Keep in mind what he says. If you
look  around,  you'll  see a large air compressor, with an air hose. Attach
that to your suit, and then turn on the compressor.

You're  all  set,  so  dive  in!  Once underwater, turn on your flashlight.
There's  that  pesky shark again! Open your canister to get rid of it, then
keep  on  going down. It will be a long way down, but you'll get there. Now
you're  on  the top deck of the Sao Vera, with a hole at your feet. Go down
the  hole.  Crash!  Looks  like  the  ladder  broke. You may have a problem
getting  back up again! Then again, maybe not. Leave that for now, and make
your  way South, into the room with the iron bars. Get one, because it will
come  in handy soon. Then keep going South, until you come to the room with
the bunks barring the way.

Move  the  bunks  with  the bar, then wedge the bar under the bunks to keep
them  from moving back. Now you can go South again, to another room, with a
ladder  leading  down.  Climb  down that one. Oops! Crash again! This time,
though,  the  whole  ladder didn't crumble. Still, it's going to be hard to
reach  it on your way back. No matter, you still have to find tha treasure,
so  go  North.  Uh Oh!! There's a giant squid here! Good thing for you it's
asleep. And if you're smart, you won't wake it up! So, just go right on by,
don't try doing anything to the squid at all.

In  the  next  room  is  an oak chest, along with a hole in the side of the
ship.  Leave  that for now, and keep going North. In the next room are some
skeletons,  remains  of  the crew. Examine them, and you'll see one wears a
scabbard.  In the scabbard is a sword. Get that, and go North again, to the
last  room.  Here  you  will  find  a maple chest. The chest is to heavy to
carry,  so  push  it  back South until you come to the oak chest (note: you
must  say "Push Maple Chest South"). Hmmmm, now, which chest to take? Let's
try the oak chest. Push that out West through the hole (carefully!

You  don't  want to cut your air supply!). Wait awhile, and the orange line
will  appear.  Get  that, tie it to the oak chest, and tug on the line. The
chest  will  slowly make its way upward, while you return to the ship. Now,
push  the  maple chest south, past the sleeping squid, and south again into
the  room  with the ladder. Climb on the chest, and you'll be able to reach
the ladder and climb back up to the middle deck. From there, go North until
you reach the room with the cask in it.

Now, push the cask north with you, until you come back to the room with the
mast and the rope tied around it. Climb on the cask, then cut the rope with
the sword. Drop the sword (you can't leave with it), and then make your way
up  and  out. Once on the top deck, just keep going up until you're back on
the  boat.  The  chest  will  be  opened to display hundreds of gold coins.
Congratulations, you're now a very rich diver!